Want to impress your partner on Valentine’s — or any other — day? Book a new Prestige Class bedroom between Toronto and Vancouver on VIA Rail’s famous Canadian, one of The Society of IRT’s World’s Top 25 Trains.

VIA recently introduced its up-market luxury service on a limited basis — something IRT Society travelers have wanted for years.

On my recent departure from Toronto, I found this beautiful, stainless steel sleeper waiting for me at the top of the escalator, coupled to a rebuilt round-end dome/observation car at the rear of the Canadian.

These cars soon will be joined by several more rebuilt sleepers, each with 6 spacious bedrooms. (The dome car also carries a handicapped room with entry directly off the vestibule).

There are many differences between Prestige Class and regular sleepers. Rooms are 50% bigger than a “one-up, one-down” cabin for two in the Sleeper Touring Class. And the window is 60% larger.

Each cabin includes a full, en suite bathroom. (For the first time on the Canadian, travelers will not have to share a shower with others.)

Not only is there a private shower, sink and toilet, there is a flat-screen TV (with a selection of videos) and a spacious L-shaped sofa that turns into a double bed (not a queen bed) at night. There are also many extra services that are provided including:

Unlimited free drinks, including alcoholic drinks

24-hour butler service

First choice for meal sittings (if you prefer to eat early – or late – this is a great benefit, especially in the summer when the train is crowded.)

Separate greeting in the first-class lounge, and private escort to the train

Turn-down service

Free off-train tour in Winnipeg for westbound passengers (but only if the train’s on time)

Fully stocked mini bar and fridge

Official rollout is planned for summer, but bookings already have started.

Prestige Class is great for a couple needing more space and who don’t want to risk climbing into an upper bunk. The higher levels of service and privacy –especially the private, en suite bathroom – will appeal to IRT guests. The 24/7 room service sounds great,too.

Of course all this comes at a price: up to $2,000 more per cabin for the Prestige Class compared with the regular first class sleeper cabin.

Please note: the cost of Prestige Class has varied every time we’ve contacted VIA’s reservations desk. Two reservation agents told us Prestige Class prices are fixed throughout the year, while another said they fluctuate depending on availability. So stay tuned!

For IRT travelers, the most popular way to ride the Canadian is on the Toronto-Jasper leg of our tour, Trans-Canada Rail Adventure: Toronto-Vancouver. (The Rocky Mountaineer covers the Banff-Vancouver leg; the Jasper-Banff leg is covered by a motorcoach on the Icefields Parkway.) For availability and pricing using Prestige Class on the Canadian on this and any other tour, please contact our office: call (800) 478-4881, (502) 897-1725, or email tourdesk@irtsociety.com.

Meanwhile, here’s some not-so-good news about the Canadian: no longer can you book the Romance Package — two double cabins remade into a suite with a double bed. And the triple bedroom no longer is available.

Bad news also for solo travelers: if you want sole use of a Prestige Class cabin, your cost will be the same as for two people.

Nevertheless, Prestige Class is a big deal. The Canadian Pacific Railway introduced the Canadian in 1955, albeit over a mostly different routing. Prestige Class is the train’s first major upgrade.

The service should be wildly popular. However the pricing works out, the busiest times for travel, such as summer, mean it’s smart to book quickly. So contact IRT ASAP!

Vacations during the holiday season often conjure up images of someplace warm, perhaps celebrating some foreign country’s unique New Year’s traditions. My traditional New Year’s trip is on VIA Rail’s Canadian across Canada, often paired with my other passion: NHL Hockey. I collect hockey arenas the same as I do rail mileage and train journeys. This time, my trip took me to Winnipeg to see a New Year’s Eve game.

It was also my 50th trip on the Canadian since 1977.
What I rode is not the much ballyhooed — and delayed — luxury service which will include completely revamped cars with dedicated attendants, larger accommodations with showers and flat screen TV’s. While waiting for that to materialize, now tentatively scheduled for 2013, the existing train has received a complete makeover. Although rooms remain the traditional Pullman size, where else except in a private railroad car can one ride a train straight out of the 1950’s?

It has been argued that today’s train isn’t the “real” Canadian, since it now mostly follows the more northerly Canadian National routing. But my consist, with the exception of one ex-Amtrak re-built coach (Amtrak, are you listening?), was made up entirely of original Canadian Pacific equipment. All interiors have been updated with new carpeting, wall coverings, seat fabrics and lighting.

Before and after: Above, the refurbished and redecorated diner on the Canadian. Walls and ceiling are white, making the car much brighter than before. Chairs have gone from pink to dark gray. Square plastic lights have replaced the art deco ones. The dark blue seat covers for dinner also are gone. Below, the Canadian's diner before the refurbishment. Photos by Bruce Anderson

The diner, previously pretty in pink, is now brightened with white walls and ceiling with dark grey seats. The famous original etched-glass partitions have been retained. Food is of the expected high standard and service is provided in a professional manner.

The Park Car has been darkened with dark grey ceiling and frames around the dome windows, giving a warm appearance, which draws more attention to the view outside rather than in. And if you get tired of the northern Ontario scenery, movies can be screened on a new flat screen TV in the lounge beneath the dome.

The Canadian's Park Car, looking down from the dome stairway to the lounge area. Photo by Bruce Anderson

While accommodations are the traditional Pullman size, the Cabin for One (ex-Roomette) and Cabin for Two (ex-Bedroom) provide a cozy atmosphere in which to sleep. Unlike Amtrak, all rooms have en-suite toilet and sink; however, the shower is down the hall. Sections or “berths” also are available, the only train left in North American where they can be found. (Sections were made famous in the “naughty” sleeper scene by Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in “Some Like It Hot.”) While sleeping accommodations on the Canadian are generally priced higher than Amtrak, fares in winter are about half those in effect during peak summer season.

Some may question traveling in winter through the “Great White North.” But I enjoy the lower passenger counts, and there’s plenty of heat. Besides, what could be better than sitting in a front dome seat at night, watching the signals change from green to red as the train passes by, the moon illuminating the snow-covered ground?

The schedule is heavily padded, so arrival is likely to be on time, as it was for me in both directions. But I wouldn’t advise booking a same-day flight at trip’s end, at least not in winter.

While not the Orient Express, the Canadian is in my opinion the best we have going in North America.

Editor’s Note: When the new luxury service debuts, the equipment and service as described above will still be available on each departure at traditional pricing, according to VIA. The Canadian runs three times weekly in each direction between Toronto and Vancouver. The Canadian is one of The Society of International Railway Traveler’s World’s Top 25 Trains for 2012; The IRT Society’s 13-day “Trans-Canada Rail Adventure” includes three overnights on the Canadian.

Author’s Note: (I traveled to Winnipeg to see its new MTS Centre and team host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sadly, the mighty Detroit Red Wings don’t play in Winnipeg this year).

Editor’s Note (April 2012): The new Deluxe Class on VIA Rail’s Canadian has been delayed, and is now expected to come on board in 2013. Stay tuned to this blog for updates.

Sunrise on the Canadian. IRT Photo by Bruce Anderson

VIA Rail Canada’s “New Canadian” makes its debut next summer on its tri- weekly Toronto-Vancouver run. VIA has invested $22 million for a total renovation of sleeping cars into what VIA describes as a luxury boutique hotel-on-wheels branded as “Deluxe Sleeper Class.”

These all-bedroom cars will have only six rooms per car, each with en-suite bathroom including private shower, larger windows, and a flat-screen TV. Improvements also include a double bed, leather sofa, and refrigerator along with upgraded linens and amenities.

VIA's new Deluxe Sleeper Class. Photo/VIA Rail Canada

Passengers also will enjoy priority boarding from dedicated lounges in Toronto and Vancouver, priority luggage handling, a specially assigned attendant and turn-down service, and priority dining car reservations along with all-day room service. Breakfast and afternoon are served in your compartment. Another unique perk: a personal introduction to the train engineer.

In addition to adding the Deluxe Sleeper Class cars, VIA has upgraded the décor of its traditional Pullman-style sleeping accommodations. And all Deluxe and Touring Class passengers will continue to have access to the renovated diners, Skyline Dome and Park Observation cars. (Renovated Park Cars also will be offering a handicapped accessible bedroom for the first time.)

Gourmet meals aboard VIA Canadian. Photo/VIA Rail Canada

Tickets for Deluxe Sleeper Class can be booked very soon –– VIA agents said the booking starts tomorrow for journeys in this new class starting June, 2012 and going through mid-September. Fares have yet to be published but are said to cost several thousand more per person than the current Sleeper Touring Class. Pricing has not been publicly released. For budget-minded travelers, “Comfort Class” — basically coach — is still available, although utilized mostly by local passengers going to or from intermediate stops in route.

With domes no longer in regular Amtrak service, it’s good to know that these unique creations can still be enjoyed three days a week just north of the border in a 1950’s classic American streamliner — but now updated to 21st-Century standards.

The Canadian has been plying the rails between Toronto and Vancouver since it was first introduced by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1955.

Consistently named one of the “World’s Top 25 Trains” by the Society of International Railway Travelers, this classic Budd-built streamliner remains a throwback to what North American passenger trains were all about, including its art deco lounges and diner, traditional Pullman-style roomettes, bedrooms, and drawing room. It even retains some traditional sections, with privacy provided by a flimsy curtain (think Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like it Hot.”)

Editors note: Car descriptions are based on VIA publicity and have not been personally reviewed, as they are not yet in service. IRT plans to see the new equipment as soon as possible and to sample the new service as soon as it begins next summer. Let us know: is the new deluxe sleeper class something you’ll want to book?